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SINCE 2009, rich nations have failed to fulfil the pledge of $100bn every year in climate finance to developing nations.—AFP/file • 70 ministers gather to hammer out details before next month’s UN climate summit in Dubai • Many sceptical of rich countries’ willingness to set up the fund ABU DHABI: Setting up a “ loss and damage ” fund for poorer nations hit by climate change dominated preliminary talks on Tuesday one month before COP28 in Dubai, where delegates look set to tussle over the future of fossil fuels. Around 70 ministers have gathered since Monday at the Emirates Palace, a luxurious resort in the United Arab Emirates capital Abu Dhabi, to hammer out details before next month’s UN climate summit, the most important since the landmark Paris agreement in 2015. “The main focus for the moment is clearly the loss and damage fund,” said French Energy Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher. The agreement to set up a dedicated fund to help vulnerable countries cope with climate ...

NEW DEHLI: Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of trying to hack into senior opposition politicians’ mobile phones, after they reported receiving warning messages from Apple. Some of the lawmakers shared screenshots on social media of a notification quoting the iPhone manufacturer as saying: “Apple believes you are being targeted by state-sponsored attackers who are trying to remotely compromise the iPhone associated with your Apple ID”. “Hack us all you want,” Mr Gandhi told a news conference in New Delhi, in reference to Modi. “But we (opposition) will not stop questioning you.” “We are not scared. You can do as much [phone] tapping as you want, I don’t care. If you want to take my phone, I will give it to you,” Mr Gandhi added. Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw expressed concern at the lawmakers’ statements and said the government had asked Apple to join its investigation into the matter. The company ...

The caretaker government on Tuesday maintained the current prices of petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) for the next fortnight. According to a notification from the Ministry of Finance, available with Dawn.com , the prices of petrol and HSD will remain Rs283.38 and Rs303.18 per litre, respectively. Meanwhile, the prices of kerosene oil and light-diesel oil were reduced by Rs3.82 and Rs3.4 per litre, respectively, to Rs211.03 and Rs189.46 per litre. The move comes contrary to expectations of a reduction of Rs5-18 per litre for diesel and petrol. Official sources had told Dawn that the price of HSD was likely to decrease by about Rs5-6 per litre, falling to less than Rs300 per litre, unless the caretaker government further increased the petroleum levy. On the other hand, petrol was expected to be cheaper by about Rs18 per litre. This was mainly due to the rupee’s gain of about Rs3 against the dollar over the last fortnight, while the average price of diesel has dropped by about $1....

• Inzamam steps down after ‘conflict of interest’ allegations emerge • TV anchor under fire for displaying WhatsApp chat with Babar without consent THE turmoil continues back home; its aftershocks threatening to further derail Pakistan’s campaign at the World Cup in India. It’s an unwelcome distraction that could’ve been put off, at least until Babar Azam’s men were well and truly out of the race for the semis. But that’s Pakistan cricket for you: a place where things unravel fast. This time, a lot has happened in the space of just over 48 hours, culminating in the resignation of chief selector Inzamamul Haq on Monday, on the eve of yet another must-win game for Pakistan against Bangladesh in Kolkata. So when Pakistan take the field at Eden Gardens, looking to keep alive their faint hopes of reaching the last four, they will be essentially be doing so with the man who selected them no longer at the helm; the man who, alongside captain Babar, was named as being responsible for the ...

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) came down hard on the federal authorities on Monday, directing the Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) to take up audio leaks matter with the cabinet in order to devise a legal framework for surveillance. “How is electronic surveillance being done, and who is doing it? Who is the competent authority for taking decision of recording phone calls? The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) says they have not permitted listening third party conversation to anyone,” Justice Babar Sattar remarked during the hearing of the petitions of Bushra Bibi , the spouse of ex-premier Imran Khan, and Najamus Saqib , son of former chief justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar. “The audio of the Prime Minister’s Office, a Supreme Court judge and a former chief justice’s family was leaked. It is a terrible decision to do so without taking the state of Pakistan into confidence,” Justice Sattar noted. The petitions were moved by the son of ex-CJP Saqib who had challen...

LAHORE: The caretaker Punjab government is all set to present its second four-month budget of the ongoing financial year 2023-24 before the cabinet, led by Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, on Monday (today). Earlier in June, the caretaker government had presented its first four-month — July-October — budget to the tune of Rs1.72 trillion after having spent the remaining six months’ budget (Jan­uary-June 2023) approved by the previous PTI government for FY23. This budget, which is expiring on October 31 (tomo­rrow), had raised many eyebrows because its document did not provide any details about the money to be spent in the run-up to the elections, which were originally expected in October. The first four-month budget also triggered widespread speculation that it might allocate funds for development projects and subsidies based on PML-N’s political agenda. Since it is generally unprecedented for a caretaker government to present its second four-month (120 days) budget, the Punjab govern...

KARAGANDA: Kazakhstan held nationwide mourning on Sunday after 45 people died in a blaze at an ArcelorMittal mine, the worst accident in the Central Asian country’s post-Soviet history. The tragedy, which struck at the Kostenko coal mine in the Karaganda region on Saturday, came after a series of deadly incidents at ArcelorMittal mines and has prompted the nationalisation of the company’s local affiliate. Kazakhstan’s emergency services said on social media that the bodies of 45 people had been found, whereas the search for four miners continued. Rescuers earlier warned that finding the remaining miners alive were “very low”, due to the lack of ventilation and the force of Saturday’s explosion. The death toll overtook a 2006 accident that left 41 miners dead at another ArcelorMittal site. It also came just two months after another incident killed five miners. ArcelorMittal, led by Indian businessman Lakshmi Mittal, operates some 15 factories and mines in the centre of the former ...

LAHORE: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) will investigate how dozens of people impersonating lawyers managed to slip into Europe after securing visas through ‘unauthorised’ use of letterheads of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) of Pakistan. The SCBA has filed a complaint with the FIA director-general, seeking a comprehensive investigation into the unauthorised use of its letterheads for the illegal transportation of ‘non-lawyers’ and non-members of SCBA abroad (Europe) through fraudulent acquisition of visas. According to the SCBA, an unsigned letter was issued to the Austrian embassy, fraudulently usi­ng its letterheads to facilitate the entry of 39 individuals into Europe under the impression of being advocates and SCBA members in June last year. “Upon taking the charge of the SCBAP in Nov 2022, the 25th executive commi­ttee was informed regarding the grave crime of human smuggling that took place during the tenure of its predecessors (24th executive committee of SCB...

Matthew Perry, one of the stars of smash hit TV sitcom “Friends,” was found dead at his home on Saturday, US media reported. He was 54. First responders found Perry unconscious in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home and were unable to revive him, law enforcement sources told the Los Angeles Times . The LA Times and TMZ , which first reported the news, both said there were no signs of foul play, citing anonymous sources. Perry was best known for his portrayal of the wise-cracking Chandler Bing on NBC’s wildly popular “Friends,” which ran for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004. Perry had battled for years with addiction to painkillers and alcohol, and attended rehabilitation clinics on multiple occasions. In his memoir Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing , published last year, Perry described going through detox 65 times, spending some $9 million in attempts to get sober. Perry experienced health problems including a burst colon in 2018 due to his drug usage, which required a se...

• IHC rejects ex-PM’s petitions and immunity claims; notes he apparently committed an offence under Official Secrets Act • PTI chief ‘may face death penalty or up to 14 years imprisonment’ • Refuses to record statement in May 9 case; Qureshi questioned in Adiala Jail ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday declined bail to detained former prime minister Imran Khan in a case in which he has been indicted on charges of leaking state secrets, observing that he apparently committed the offence, which might carry the death penalty or up to 14 years of imprisonment. The court also rejected another petition filed by the PTI chief in which he had asked the court to cancel the FIR in the cipher case. The charge is related to a classified cable sent to Islamabad by Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States last year, which Mr Khan is accused of making public. Mr Khan denies this, arguing that the contents of the cable appeared in the media from other sources. The prosecuti...

KURRAM: An armed conflict between two religious groups in Kurram claimed seven more lives on Friday, as officials said efforts to overcome the situation were underway. The clashes between the two sects, which erupted after a controversial video went viral on social media a few days ago, have so far claimed 15 lives. Although the contents of the video were strongly condemned by both sides, sporadic violence erupted in the area. Officials told Dawn that five people were killed in clashes between the two armed groups in the Boshara area, while two others lost their lives in Khar Kalay and Baleech Khel areas, on Friday. Officials said that at least 23 people, including 10 hurt in Friday’s clashes, had been injured in the four days of armed conflict that has swept through the region. Cellular networks remain suspended and all routes in and out of the district are closed for traffic, officials said, adding that locals were stranded and many others, who arrived from other parts of the c...

RAWALPINDI: Pakis­tan International Airlines has cancelled 349 flights over the last two weeks and is managing the flight schedule on a day-to-day basis due to fuel shortage , accor­ding to the spokesperson. The national carrier has been grappling with “ the most severe crisis ” in its history for two weeks after the Pakistan State Oil (PSO) cut its fuel supply. Even after two weeks, the crisis is nowhere near resolution — despite the management’s proclamations — as only ten flights, including nine international, were operated on Thursday, the spokesman confirmed without revealing the number of cancelled flights. The spokesperson said flights were being operated as per the availability of fuel. Only those aircraft are taking off for which fuel could be assured. Canada, Turkiye, China, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia identified as ‘priority’ destinations A plan has been chalked out to prioritise flights to Canada, Turkiye, China, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia, the spokesperson added. The ...

ISLAMABAD: Social media platform TikTok has removed 14.14 million videos in Pakistan for violating community guidelines in April-June 2023. According to its Comm­unity Guidelines Enfo­rce­ment Report for April-June 2023, TikTok removed 106.47m videos globally, or around 0.7pc of all videos uploaded to TikTok. Of them, 66,440,775 videos were removed through automated systems, while 6,750,002 videos were restored after review. Published in Dawn, October 27th, 2023 from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/th4icDH

PESHAWAR: An Afghan refugee woman climbs a ladder onto a truck outside the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees repatriation centre, on Wednesday.—AFP ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Interior formed a nine-member joint task force on Wednesday to investigate the issuance of over 12,000 passports to Afghan immigrants. The joint director general of the Intelligence Bureau is the convener of the task force, which also includes Grade-20 officers of Military Intelligence, Inter-Services Intelligence and Federal Investigation Agency, a notification seen by Dawn showed. Other members include the director general of the interior ministry’s immigration and passports department and Grade-20 officers of Nadra, PTA, FBR and the Ministry of Interior (law). This new team replaces an earlier four-member committee. The task force will investigate data breaches in the national database, scrutinise unauthorised access, determine the connivance of officials of various institutions and identify...

• Number of refugees worldwide jumps 1.2m in just six months • Record 114m people displaced globally by end of September ISLAMABAD: The number of Afghan refugees globally increased from 5.7 million to 6.1 million, mostly reflecting new population estimates reported by the Pakistan government, the United Nations said on Wednesday. Together, Iran (3.4m) and Pakistan (2.1m) hosted 90 per cent of all Afghan refugees, UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, said in a new report. “By the end of June, there were an estimated 35.8m refugees globally, most of whom have been in displacement for many years,” it said in its Mid-Year Trends Report , which analyses forced displacement during the first six months of 2023. This figure has doubled within seven years. The global total includes 5.5m people in refugee-like situations and 5.3m other people in need of international protection. Similarly, the number of people displaced by war, persecution, violence and human rights violations globally jumpe...

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet has approved the telecom infrastructure-sharing framework and green-lighted the formation of a committee to auction the spectrum for the next-generation 5G wireless network, Caretaker IT Minister Dr Umar Saif said on Wednesday. The infrastructure-sharing framework aims to help telecom companies jointly use resources, including towers, antennas and cable ducts, optimise resource consumption and possibly cut operational costs. The minister hoped the framework’s adoption would also open doors for new companies to enter the domestic telecom space. As for the 5G auction, he said the new panel — to be headed by Caretaker Finance Minister Sham­shad Akhtar — would play a key role in rolling out the faster network. The committee would also include the ministers for IT, science and technology, industries and production, the secretaries of relevant ministries, and Federal Board of Revenue officials. Dr Saif said the committee’s primary task would be to asse...

Senior PML-N leader Senator Ishaq Dar on Wednesday said he expected a meeting between party supremo Nawaz Sharif and PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari would “hopefully” take place, after weeks of enduring withering criticism from the PPP. Speaking in an interview on Dawn News show Live with Adil Shahzeb , the senator was questioned about mounting criticism from the PPP ahead of Nawaz’s return and on whether there was a possibility of a meeting between the party heads. “There is no restriction on a meeting; it should happen and will hopefully take place in the near future.” Dar said Nawaz was busy with his legal issues after returning to Pakistan. On criticism from the PPP, he said the PML-N had had a “very good working relationship” with the party. Dar added he felt it “inappropriate” to respond to critical statements from PPP leaders since the two parties had a relationship which would continue into the future. He said he personally wished that all major political parties shou...

QUETTA: Women are often seen as the gentler gender, with some thinking they can’t do everything men can. But when you look at Hameeda and Saira, two sisters who’ve devoted their lives to battling polio, it challenges that viewpoint. The power duo is completely dedicated to vaccinate the underprivileged kids in the neighbourhood. They have been working as health volunteers for a few years now and their spirit remains stronger than ever. With the first light of the day, Hameeda starts her daily routine. She takes care of her household tasks, like cleaning the house and looking after their animals, all in preparation for her important job. Her eyes show determination, and she wears a calm smile as she gets ready to vaccinate the less fortunate kids in the neighborhood. As a community health volunteer, Hameeda doesn’t just see her work as a duty; she finds it to be a dedicated and satisfying effort, majorly because her community openly accepts the concept of vaccinations. “We do no...

• Punjab caretakers ‘suspend’ sentence in Al-Azizia reference • IHC extends protective bail till tomorrow, giving NAB one day to decide on appeals • Accountability court revokes warrants for PML-N leader in Toshakhana case ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: PML-N sup­reme leader Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday secured an extension in his protective bail from the Islamabad High Court in the Al-Azizia and Avenfield Apartments references till Thursday, as the Punjab caretaker government in a contested move suspended the former prime minister’s sentence in the Al-Azizia case under Section 401 of Code of Criminal Procedure. In a similar development, accountability court judge Mohammad Bashir revoked the perpetual arrest warrants of Mr Sharif after his surrender in the Toshakhana case and also granted him bail against surety bonds of Rs1 million. Further hearing in this matter has been adjourned till Nov 20. During his appearance at the high court after a gap of four years, the PML-N leader was accompanied ...

RAWALPINDI: Pak­istan International Air­lines is on the verge of a shutdown as it has cancelled over 300 flights in the past 10 days due to the unavailability of fuel and financial crisis, a national carrier’s spokesman has confirmed. The airline is facing arguably its worst crisis in history as Pakistan State Oil (PSO) has cut the fuel supply over unpaid dues. The move forced the airline to cancel 322 flights, including 134 on international routes, since Oct 14. On Tuesday, 51 flights, including 27 on domestic routes, were cancelled, as per the spokesman. The widespread cancellation of flights has left thousands of passengers in distress. The airline management has been unable to give them a tentative time of departure for their flights, compelling them to look for seats on other airlines. The spokesman said the management was trying to accommodate passengers on alternative flights and apologised for the problems caused by the cancellations. Published in Dawn, October 25th, 2023...

ISLAMABAD: The Special Court on Monday indicted former prime minister Imran Khan and ex-foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in the cipher case . Special Court Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain conducted the hearing at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail. According to sources, the two PTI leaders pleaded not guilty and subsequently, the judge summoned the witnesses on Oct 27 and asked the prosecution to place evidence to substantiate the allegations. Judge Zulqarnain also rejected the application to stop the framing of charges against the two PTI leaders. The charge sheet read out by the judge stated that Mr Khan “illegally retained and wrongly communicated” the cipher , Dawn.com reported . PTI chief unlikely to be produced before ECP today “The said information/cipher was relating to top secret information which was inter-se two states, i.e., [the] United States and Pakistan.” According to the charge sheet, the PTI chief, while holding the office of the prime minister, used the cipher in ...

CHENNAI: Afghanistan’s captain Hashmatullah Shahidi shakes hands with his Pakistani counterpart Babar Azam after the former led his team to a resounding victory, on Monday.—AFP CHENNAI: This time, Babar Azam had nowhere to hide. The Pakistan captain usually manages to skip post-match press conferences, especially when the team loses a match. But on Monday, he couldn’t. He shouldn’t have, in fact, after Pakistan fell to their first-ever loss to Afghanistan in a one-day international. To Babar’s horror, it came during the World Cup; his charges falling to a third successive defeat in the tournament, their odds of finishing in the top four narrowing with each game. There was no avoiding questions, probing ones, that needed answers. “This loss was very hard as a team,” said Babar, his voice shaking as he spoke, no wide smiles on his face to falsely depict all is well. It must have been hard. Afghanistan hadn’t merely scraped their way to a historic win, they quite clinically bul...

HYDERABAD: Jamaat-i-Islami Pakistan’s emir Sirajul Haq has said that establishment most often supports corrupt politicians but it is now a test for judiciary to deal with convicted PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, who has returned to the country after four-years of self-exile. Haq said at a gathering of JI workers here on Monday that what would Mr Sharif, who failed to deliver in his past three terms as premier, do if he were elected prime minister for the fourth time. He said that Nawaz’s brother was a prime minister in the Pakistan Democratic Movement government while other party leaders held important portfolios. As long as dynastic politics remained entrenched in Pakistan, democracy could not flourish, he said. He said the country faced a critical situation as it suffered from multiple ailments like weak economy, bad governance and corruption. Says democracy cannot flourish as long as dynastic politics remain entrenched in Pakistan He said the current government policies had tu...

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco) has recovered Rs474.63 million from 28,866 customers during an ongoing campaign which was initiated on Sept 1. According to a statement, Iesco carried out indiscriminate and intensive operations against electricity thieves and defaulters in all the regions including Islamabad, Rawalpindi City, Rawalpindi Cantt, Attock, Chakwal and Jhelum Region. Chief Executive Iesco Dr Mohammad Amjad Khan stated that the recovery of electricity dues from the defaulters was being ensured in every case and no one had the right to use electricity without paying the bill. He said this during a review meeting on the performance of the ongoing campaign regarding recovery and anti-power theft. He further said that best results were being achieved during the campaign to clean the Iesco region from the scourge of electricity theft. According to data, Iesco’s recovery teams have collected Rs220.72 million from 20,167 running defaulters, as well as Rs253....

KARACHI: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which has been consistently vocal against attempts to delay the polls beyond the January timeline set by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), on Sunday took issue with the demand — coming from the PML-N and JUI-F — to postpone the elections even further. In a statement, PPP leader and former deputy NA speaker Faisal Karim Kundi said the ECP was bound by the Constitution and could not delay polls on the wishes of two political parties. He expressed concern that postponing elections could be construed as an attempt to ‘steal the election’ and expressed disappointment over the ECP’s delay in announcing a final election date. “The ECP is legally bound and is not operating according to the orders of two personalities, hence elections cannot be delayed,” he said. “It is about time we put an end to the ‘selection’ process, and head towards elections,” he added. Kundi says ECP not supposed to operate on ‘orders of two figures’, dubs Nawaz’...

• Fixed monthly fee to jump from Rs10 to Rs400, consumer rates by 194pc • Special ECC meeting scheduled today to clear unprecedented hikes ISLAMABAD: Before seeking final dates for the second review of the ongoing IMF loan programme, the government has convened a special meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) on Monday (today) to discuss and clear an unprecedented surge of 3,900 per cent in fixed monthly charges and a 194pc hike in consumer rates for natural gas. These price adjustments, set for cabinet’s ratification on Tuesday, aim to be implemented retroactively from Oct 1. This is on top of the petroleum division’s request to shift towards a new gas pricing mechanism on the pattern of the weighted average cost of local and imported gas (WACOG) to ensure the actual cost of gas supply and eradicate the flow of the gas sector’s circular debt, which stands at Rs2.1 trillion as of this June, according to a summary submitted to the ECC. However, there’s a disparity in ...